Strait of Malacca, waters near Masi Island.
In the observation basket at the top of the triangular mast of the really old-fashioned coastal defense ironclad Belle Isle, two lookouts held up telescopes with trembling hands, their eyes full of fear.
Drops of sweat slid down their temples, reaching the corners of their mouths with a hint of salty taste. The white sailor uniforms had long been wet with sweat. Although it was autumn, the blazing sunshine in the Strait of Malacca, close to the equator, still made them dizzy. So much so that they were a little unsure whether the scene that appeared in the telescope was real or illusory?
This is a suffocating fleet! It is passing through the sea between Damasi Island and Batan Island in two columns and at a speed of about 10 knots. On every ship, the sun and moon flag of the Ming Navy was flying!
"Two, two Hero-class ships, eight Prince-class ships (Prince-class ships), eight Duke-class ships (Laojia Cruiser named after Daming Guogong), eight Marquis-class ships (protected cruiser named after Daming Marquis), and There are four. They seem to be Japan’s Four Heavenly Kings? Also, there are many large transport ships! Oh my God, what do these Orientals want to do? Do they want to start a war?”
An older lookout reported his findings while raising his questions in a trembling voice. As a veteran petty officer who has served in the Indian Grand Fleet for a long time, he remembers the appearance of most of the Ming Dynasty naval ships, and has witnessed their majesty on the ocean near Malacca more than once. But at the same time, he saw forty or fifty Ming Navy ships forming a huge formation trying to pass through the Strait of Malacca. He had only seen it in his nightmares.
Of course, this scene is also a nightmare for the entire British Empire!
In fact, the Malacca Squadron of the Royal Indian Navy (actually the original Indian Fleet of the Royal Navy) where this veteran of the British Royal Navy belongs was formed just for this nightmare.
Not to stop the nightmare, but to alert London when it started.
Therefore, this Malacca squadron is not powerful at all. In addition to two old-fashioned coastal defense ironclads with more than 20 years of age, there are some notification ships (unprotected cruisers) with a displacement of more than 1,000 tons, several hundred tons of gunboats and A lighter torpedo boat.
Of course, it is impossible to repel the invading main fleet of the Ming Dynasty with these "cannon fodder ships". Their mission is only to fend off the incoming enemy for a while, so as to buy the Danmasi Fortress time to deploy its defenses, and report the "bad news" to India in Calcutta. Just the Royal Navy Grand Fleet Headquarters
"Sir, the lookout post reported that the main fleet of the Ming Navy was found to have at least 10 battleships, including 2 hero-class ships and 8 prince-class ships."
In the bridge of the coastal defense ironclad Belle Island, Commodore William Baga, commander of the Malacca Strait Squadron, listened to the report of the telegraph communication officer with a pale face, and then raised the telescope in his hand to look at the sea in the southeast direction. . After a little search, I found two thick triangular masts floating on the sea level and several lines of smoke from steam boilers that went straight into the sky. The visibility is now very good, and Commodore Baga can even identify those masts fluttering in the wind, which are the sun and moon flags of the Ming Dynasty Navy!
From the size and shape of the mast, Commodore Baga has already analyzed in his mind that this is the Ming Dynasty's "Duke" class Wei and Ding ships! Although they are only 3,000-ton "old armored patrols", their 210mm cannons are still enough to beat old ships like the Belle Isle class into flames.
He looked serious, and was still thinking about how long his Belle Isle could last when the fight started, when the smoke pillars and more and more tall masts that appeared in the sky slowly appeared in front of him. The telescope is currently inside!
William Baga knew that he had not misheard just now. The Ming Navy had really sent a large fleet. His nightmare, no, the nightmare of the British Empire had come true!
He immediately reacted and ordered loudly: "Send a semaphore to the reporting ship Surprise and have it return to Danmasi Port immediately and report to the Governor's Mansion of Danmasi. The Ming Dynasty is coming, the Ming Dynasty is really coming! 10 battleships, armored 8 cruisers and 8 protected cruisers have entered the Strait of Malacca!"
When he gave the order, there were beads of sweat rolling down his forehead. He didn't know if he was under too much pressure. Finally, he cursed fiercely in his mouth: "Fake, I won't commit suicide! Zuo Manduo , let’s return to Danmaxi Fortress!”
"Yes, sir!"
Everyone in the bridge of the Belle Isle let out a sigh of relief.
Although these people are all excellent naval officers and soldiers, and they all have the naval spirit of the Royal Navy in their hearts, they are still afraid of death, and they are even less willing to die carelessly. So at this time, no one wants to use their own lives to test the true intentions of the Ming Navy. Whatever it is, just report it to the superiors according to the script of "The Nightmare Begins"!
London, 10 Downing Street.
At this time, Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington, was in his office happily watching the coded telegram sent by Hugh Gough from Constantinier - it was not sent by a wireless telegraph machine, but The telegraph line connecting Alexandria, Egypt, via Constantiniya went first to the British Consulate General in Alexandria and then to Lord Wynn in London.
As for the content of the secret message, of course it is all news that Lao Maozi is frustrated!
Nicholas I was really in disgrace this time. He had completely lost all the ancestral power of the furry bear that he had accumulated since the time of Peter the Great. Two to three hundred thousand troops, as well as the Mediterranean Fleet and the Black Sea Fleet, were blocked to the west of Adrianople. It has been blocked since May until now in September, and progress is still slow.
Although in these four months, Nicholas I has been working very hard to recruit soldiers and generals to buy arms. Not only did he recruit more than 200,000 strong men to join the army in Greece, Rumelia, Wallachia and other places, he also recruited Rakshasa from More than 100,000 new soldiers were mobilized in the mainland, pushing the total force invested to more than 500,000. However, they still failed to capture Adrianople, and only advanced the front line to Adrianople for another ten or twenty kilometers.
Four months of fighting for 120 kilometers, and at the cost of at least 150,000 casualties. For the Rakshasa people, the Greeks, and the Bulgarians, this was really a nightmare!
The Rakshasa people's bigger nightmare still lies in Asia Minor, the Arabian Peninsula and North Africa. Because Mahmoud II's "War of Gods" was fought so well, the warlords and tribal leaders of the empire who had previously been prepared to wait for the Ottoman Empire to separate and go it alone had to change their stance and all started to The careerist became a loyal loyalist of the Turkish Empire - after all, the Ottoman Turkish Empire was a country that used Tianfang religion to unite people's hearts, and everyone believed in this. And what Mahmoud II did in Adrianople was the War of Gods. This is the highest level of political correctness in the entire Tianfang Sect world! Even people like Ali Pasha no longer dare to oppose the Sultan. Therefore, the original Constantinier has now become the real Sultan of the Ottoman Empire.
Every day, "god warriors" from Asia Minor, the Arabian Peninsula, and North Africa entered Constantiniya. Warlords like Ali Pasha also sent troops, while the Tianfang believers in the Indian Empire donated money under the instructions of Emperor William. A large amount of money was obtained, and this money was turned into British-made weapons (a considerable part of which were made in India), which were continuously sent to the hands of Mahmud II through the Persian Gulf, Yinrak, and Syria.
The originally divided Turkish Empire was actually united because of Nicholas I's attack!
Therefore, the situation in the British Empire is very good, and the nightmare of the Rakshasa Kingdom has just begun, and Prussia, Austria, and France are now ready to change sides and help each other as soon as Mahmoud II recognizes the independence of Greece.
"Dongdongdong"
A rapid knock on the door suddenly reached the ears of the Duke of Wellington, who was enjoying himself. The Duke frowned: "Is it you? Huck."
"No, it's me, Horatio!"
The person who came was actually Earl Nelson!
The Duke of Wellington said quickly: "Come in, Earl, please come in quickly!"
The door of the office was pushed open by Huck, and then came the gloomy-looking Earl Nelson. The British naval "god of war" looked at the Duke of Wellington and said calmly: "It's begun!"
"What started?"
"The nightmare of the British Empire begins!"
